


Four Times They Hurt

by missgaley, sathalia (missgaley)



Series: January 2016 Critmas Fics [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherly Affection, Extended Scene, Family Angst, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Other, Protective Siblings, Sibling Love, Twin Powers, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:03:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5430716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missgaley/pseuds/missgaley, https://archiveofourown.org/users/missgaley/pseuds/sathalia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four times they hurt: two in the beginning when everything always seemed to end up okay; two later on, when the world came crashing down around them. Their bond shall always run deep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Four Times They Hurt

_“I don't feel the need to explain my actions to her. I don't clarify, I don't doubt, I don't worry._  
_I don't tell her everything, not anymore, but I tell her more than anyone else, by far. I tell her as much as I can.”_

― Gillian Flynn,  _Gone Girl_

  

1. 

She can feel it when he limps. Her brother won’t say it but Vex knows that he’s in pain. She saw the scarring on his foot. She saw the nub that had once been his toe. And she trusts Pike, of course, but she can’t help but wish that the injuries would heal faster. The magma had done its damage well and Vex had felt her brother’s agony. If it hadn’t been for Trinket… 

She takes a few quick steps forward to fall in next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Vax glances at her momentarily but says nothing. His weight shifts and, although no one else would notice, he leans into her side. Silence hangs between them but Vex knows well that her brother does not need to speak to express his thanks. He’ll get better with time, she knows, but soon is certainly not soon enough for either of them.

  

2.

Every time his sister is stunned, it’s as if a part of his mind goes blank. It’s a feeling he cannot shake, much like the catatonia that has taken over her and Trinket. He glances back only once, just to check on her, and sees the sight of her slightly limp form only barely grasping the edges of Trinket’s armour, though still secure in Keyleth’s strange carpet vine. Vax looks away—he has to get them out of there—but the numbness at the back of his mind remains and it chills him to the bone. No matter how temporary the effects may be, there’s a spark that’s missing: his sister’s spark.

The only way to get it back is to fly them safely out of here. Then she’ll be okay; then they’ll both be fine.

  

3.

She knows something is wrong when it feels as if ice has travelled from the bottom of her spine up to the base of her skull. It’s a terrible sensation but it’s momentarily paused by a surge of emotion that Vex cannot explain. Memories of their mother, of studying with her brother, of showing off her first trick shot in the forests… then that awful feeling is back and Vex knows only one word for it: dread.

She takes off running, not even bothering to tell the others. She nearly stumbles and chokes when a new sensation takes over her body: it’s an emptiness that she has never felt before. It’s not just in her mind, it feels as if something has been ripped from her entire being. She knows.

No one will take her brother from her.

  

4.

Words cannot begin to form with his lips, nor can air even be released from his lungs. She’s there, in his arms, and yet every connection he has ever felt between them is absent, as if severed. She’s still breathing—barely—and that is the only relief he can find in this situation. Nothing is working. Pike cannot heal her and potions seem to be useless. If they wait much longer…

He doesn’t want to let her go. Vax knows that he must but the thought that he might never feel the warmth of her presence again, even if the others can make it to safety, makes his stomach churn. It’s with great hesitance that he lets anyone else touch her. This is his sister; this is Vex.

And he will not lose her without a fucking damn good fight.


End file.
